


He's Punished Himself Enough

by eyeless_soul



Category: Angel's Crest
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-20
Updated: 2015-02-20
Packaged: 2018-03-13 20:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3396026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyeless_soul/pseuds/eyeless_soul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the end of the movie Ethan kills himself, this is my take on what was going through his mind and what would have happened if Rusty would have found him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He's Punished Himself Enough

            Ethan drove his truck, to what he figured was the perfect spot. It was beautiful.  It was just on the ridge of the mountain side, it was lined with trees and rocks. If he was going to die, this was definitely the spot to do it. He parked his truck, grabbed his rifle and got out. As he walked down the trial to the little clearing, there was a lot that went through his mind. He thought the place was pretty; the cold air stung his eyes and he couldn’t help the thought of how cold that must have been for Nate. Little Nate, an innocent three year old child who had died alone. The whole town blamed him for what happened to Nate and he blamed himself.

            He sat against one of the rocks. He knew what he was going to do; after all he’d even told Cindy that she wouldn’t have to kill him if they found their – his son dead, he’d do it himself. And here he was, and for the first time since he’s found Nate in the snow, his mind was clear; he felt almost happy.

\---

            Rusty had been sitting in the court room waiting for Ethan to arrive. There was a gnawing feeling in his gut. The sort of feeling he got when he was in bed with a married woman, and her husband was about to walk through the front door. He’d learned a long time ago not to ignore that feeling; not when almost every person in Angel’s Crest owned and carried a gun. So, mush to the ‘disgust’ of many of the people in the court room he got out of his seat and left.

\---

            He spotted Ethan’s truck before he saw the man. He couldn’t blame him for being a wreck; no one would but what he was about to do was not an answer; not by a long shot. He got out of his truck and all but ran down the embankment. There, in the clearing was Ethan, the barrel of the gun to his head.

            As Rusty approached he put his hands, palms out in front of him. The last thing he wanted to do was startle him and cause him to pull the trigger. “Ethan,” his voice sounded unsure and his footsteps were careful and quiet.

            “Go away Rusty.” As he felt he could feel the tears run down his face. (Had Nate cried?).

            Rusty shook his head. “You know I can’t do that. What are you doing?” He could punch himself over asking that stupid of a question. It was obvious what he was doing. “I mean, why?” Another stupid question, he knew the answer to that one and almost as if Ethan could read his mind.

            Ethan scoffed. “I can’t go anywhere in town without people looking at me like the very fact that I’m breathing insults them. Nate’s gone and it’s my fault. I’m doing what I should have done the day I found him in the snow.” Ethan cocked the gun. “Rusty if you know what’s good for you, you’d leave now.”

            “Ethan, please. It’s possible that once you get out of prison, you could move. Start your life completely over. Rusty was trying not to sound whiny.

            Ethan shook his head. “And forever be haunted by the face of my dead son. Let’s say I do move, start completely over. Let’s say I manage to fall in love and start a new family. Me and the hypothetical woman have a baby. All through her pregnancy it’ll be ‘when Nate had his first ultrasound , he did this’ then the baby is born and from the time he is one until it turns three, I will be comparing that child to Nate. Then the child turns four and suddenly it’s Nate never had a chance to be four or Nate would be 5 now if I hadn’t been so stupid. No Rusty, living isn’t an option. I was already dead the day I found him,” Ethan’s voice broke and he took a deep breath, letting the tears fall again. “The day I found him frozen in the snow.”

            The sound of the shot being fired off echoed through the quiet mountains. Rusty just stood there shocked. For a moment he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think. He stared down at the lifeless body of his friend, the show beginning to turn red under him. He finally was able to move and go back to his truck that was where his phone was. His voice was shaky as he called the police to report a suicide.

\---

            Inside the court room, an officer walked in and approached the Judge. Both lawyers exchanged glances as the judge seemed shocked at whatever the officer was telling her. After a long moment of silence, she spoke. “It appears that today’s hearing will be cancelled. The Defendant has committed suicide. Court is dismissed.” The judge left the room, going onto her chambers and leaving the bailiff to deal with the court room full of people.

            As Cindy got out of her seat, she shook her head. She needed a cigarette and a bottle of Vodka. She had loved Nate and she was glad that Ethan was dead. If there had been a time that she had loved him, it was forgotten the day that he killed her son.

 

The End


End file.
